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A cross is seen on the facade of a United Methodist Church in Prescott, Ariz., May 3, 2024. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

Question Corner: Can I go to a Methodist church since there are no Catholic churches nearby?

May 8, 2024
By Jenna Marie Cooper
OSV News
Filed Under: Commentary, Question Corner

Q: I recently moved to a rural area, and my current parish is now nearly an hour drive away. There are no Catholic churches in my new area. There is, however, a Methodist church right across the street from my new home, in easy walking distance. They are open for services on Sunday morning and Wednesday night. I know the two faiths are different in some key areas, but, as a Catholic, how wrong would I be if I simply went to this Methodist church? I asked a cradle Catholic friend about this, and they said as long as I go to Catholic Mass once a year, I’ll be considered active in the Catholic faith, but if I miss over a year I’ll be considered a “lapsed Catholic,” and that if I ever want to come back I’ll be considered a “revert,” and have to go through RCIA again. Could you comment and clarify? (Southern Indiana)

A: There are several questions within your question. To start with the first one: It is not wrong or sinful for a Catholic simply to attend a non-Catholic religious service. However, a Methodist Sunday service would not fulfill the Sunday obligation for a Catholic.

Deliberately missing Sunday Mass is in itself “grave matter” and a serious sin that should be brought to the sacrament of penance. Still, it’s good to recall that the church’s law does not bind us to do the impossible. The sinfulness of your personally potentially missing Sunday Mass in your own situation might be diminished due to mitigating factors.

Regarding the idea that a Catholic only needs to attend Mass once a year to remain “active,” I think your friend might be a little confused. As noted above, Catholics are required to attend Mass every Sunday. But strictly speaking, a Catholic is only required to receive Holy Communion once per year (after the sacrament of penance if the Catholic is conscious of having committed a mortal sin in the past year). Among Catholics this is sometimes colloquially referred to as the “Easter duty.”

Naturally, we as Catholics are encouraged to go to confession and receive Holy Communion much more often than once a year! But if a Catholic for whatever reason discerns that he or she is not spiritually prepared to receive the Eucharist on a weekly basis, it is legitimate for him or her to fulfill the Sunday obligation by attending Mass without receiving Communion, as long as they receive Communion at least once during each Easter season.

While we might popularly use the term “active Catholic” to describe a Catholic who takes their faith seriously, technically “active Catholic” is not a category in canon law. Canon law does have some specific penalties such as excommunication that might restrict a Catholic from fully participating in the life of the church; and canon 916 reminds us that a Catholic should not receive Communion if they are conscious of having committed a serious sin that has not yet been absolved.

But once someone is baptized Catholic or formally received into the Catholic Church, they are always considered Catholic, even if they fall away from the faith or fail to practice it regularly. Nothing — not even neglecting the Sunday obligation — can “de-activate” a person’s identity as a Catholic.

Because of this, a lapsed Catholic who wanted to return to a full practice of the faith would not be eligible for RCIA, that is, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. RCIA is primarily intended for catechumens, or unbaptized persons who are preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation. As such, RCIA would not be appropriate for a Catholic who has already been fully initiated. In the majority of situations, all a lapsed Catholic would need to do to return to a full participation in the life of the church is sincerely repent and make a good confession.

Read More Question Corner

Question Corner: Can a Catholic date a person whose marriage has not been annulled or is this a sin?

Jenna Marie Cooper

May 5, 2026

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Our belief in the absolute permanence of marriage is rooted in what Jesus himself taught us in St. Matthew’s Gospel…

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Question Corner: Am I obligated to do my penance right away for my confession to be valid?

Jenna Marie Cooper

April 28, 2026

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Now it occurs to me that since I didn’t say my penance right away, my confession was invalid and I shouldn’t have received Communion at Mass. Is this a new sin I need to confess?

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Question Corner: Is there a time limit on a declaration of nullity appeal to the Roman Rota?

Jenna Marie Cooper

April 22, 2026

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I have a question about appeals to Rome of the declaration of nullity process. The metropolitan tribunal of my local archdiocese has completed their review of the case and stated that it has been proved that there is sufficient ground to find the marriage invalid (“decision in the affirmative”).

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Question Corner: Is it ever acceptable to say something other than ‘amen’ when receiving Communion?

Jenna Marie Cooper

April 16, 2026

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Although the General Instruction of the Roman Missal does go on to give some minor variations of this exchange, it never lists any other communicants’ responses besides “amen,” nor does it envision or provide for alternative responses as a possibility.

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Question Corner: Why did Jesus never directly answer whether he was ‘king of the Jews?’

Jenna Marie Cooper

April 7, 2026

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Jesus never directly answered, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Instead of simply saying “Yes,” full stop, Jesus gave what many consider to be sidestep answers…

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Question Corner: Why did Jesus descend into hell if he was sinless?

Jenna Marie Cooper

April 1, 2026

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After his death on the cross, Jesus descended into the “hell” that was simply the netherworld in order to free the dead who had sought to love and honor God despite the original sin that bound them, in order that Jesus might bring them into the fullness of life

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